


Make Me Laugh

by PenAndPencil23



Series: Joker (2019) [2]
Category: Joker (2019)
Genre: Abuse, Bruises, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fights, Modern technology, Murder, Rough Kissing, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 17:46:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21324160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PenAndPencil23/pseuds/PenAndPencil23
Summary: Lindsay hasn't seen Arthur Fleck since their graduation from Gotham High. He was the only one in their class that made her laugh so hard that her stomach hurt. Join Lindsay and Arthur as they form a relationship that goes from platonic to possibly romantic, with a little insanity added in.
Relationships: Arthur Fleck/Original Female Character(s), Joker/Original Character(s)
Series: Joker (2019) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1537309
Kudos: 32





	1. Long Time No See

Lindsay shivered as she entered the streets of Gotham, the cold wind blowing through her burgundy hair. She was glad that she wore a scarf to work that earlier morning. The only part of her body that was suffering from the cold was her face. Her hands were being warmed by the cup of coffee she just purchased from a local café.

Lin had just gotten off of work, thankful to be getting back to her apartment. Even after working at her desk job for nine years, she wasn’t able to get used to the hard chairs that were given to them. At least it allowed her to look forward to going home and plopping down on her couch and turning on late-night television while eating one of the many frozen dinners in her freezer. It made the minutes go by quicker.

The walk from the café to the train station was a block and a half. It was a nice walk when the sun was out. That day, the distance was halved because Lin walked quickly to get out of the wind. The way it blew against her face made it seem like knives were pressing against her skin.

The subway provided some sort of relief from the cold, but the concrete underground was still colder than it was outside. Heat rises, after all. With her coffee in her left hand and her right hand shoved into her coat pocket, she made her way down a couple of flights of stairs to get to the rail that she needed to reach home. Just as she was stumbling down the last flight of stairs, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. Her left pocket. She cursed underneath her breath as she switched hands, putting her coffee into her right hand, and going to reach into her pocket to get the phone.

However, as she fished her phone out of her pocket, she collided with a hard chest, causing the air to leave her lungs. She gasped as her coffee splashed onto her chest, and her phone went flying out of her hands. The phone landed on the concrete ground with a clatter, no doubt shattering, and the lid to her cup was nowhere to be found.

“Shit,” Lin cursed underneath her breath, raising her brows as she looked up at the person she crashed into. “I’m so sorry! I should have been looking, but I was trying to get my phone and…” She looked down at the floor frantically, trying to find her phone that had fell.

“No, no,” the man said in a light, monotone voice. “I’m sorry.”

The voice sounded familiar, causing Lin to look up from what she was doing to get a good view of the man she had bumped into. She furrowed her brows as she studied his face – at least the glimpses that she was able to get as he looked around on the ground. He picked up her phone, the screen badly cracked, and handed it over to her. When he handed her the phone, she was able to get a good look at his face. Lin raised her brows as she accepted the phone, placing it slowly back into her pocket.

“Arthur?” She asked. “Arthur Fleck?”

Arthur stood there, awkwardly. He looked down and then up at her. “How do you know my name?” He asked with a slight chuckle.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lin said, shaking her head. “I’m Lindsay Robinson. We went to Gotham High together!”

Arthur opened his mouth, stuttering for a couple of seconds before he shook his head. “I don’t…”

“I was the one that accidentally dropped the frog I was dissecting on the floor…and then the teacher stepped on it and fell?”

Arthur raised his brows, and before he could say anything, he burst into laughter. He closed his eyes tightly and covered his mouth, trying to stifle the laugh. Lin nodded and couldn’t help but follow the laugh, her cheeks turning red.

“I remember your laugh,” she said, gesturing to him. “You laughed all the time.”

“I..I still…” It seemed like it was hard for Arthur to stop because as he tried to talk, he was bending over and laughing once again. Lindsay laughed as well, placing her hand on her stomach. “I still do,” Arthur nodded.

“I can tell.” Lindsay smiled as she calmed her laughter down, watching as Arthur was able to do the same. Lin smiled. “I know we weren’t best friends or anything back in high school,” she commented as she reached into her bag and got out a small, wrinkled writing pad and a pen that she found at the bottom of it. She began to scribble her name and phone number on it. “But maybe the two of us can go and have drinks sometime and go get dinner? Just to catch up.”

Arthur’s attitude seemed to change from humorous to serious. “Drinks?” He questioned.

Lindsay nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “I don’t really have that many friends, and you always made me laugh in school.” Lin ripped off the paper and held it out for Arthur.

Arthur looked down at the paper and slowly took it. “Thanks,” he said as he put it into his pocket.

Lindsay then held out the pad and pen. Arthur looked down at it and then at Lin. “How about you write your number down so that I can call you too.”

A small smile curved at the corner of his mouth as he reached out and grasped the pen. “Okay, okay,” he nodded as he began to write his number on the paper. Halfway through, he began to laugh again, except it was louder than before. He instantly covered his mouth, trying his best to calm himself down. “Sorry, sorry,” he waved at her as he continued to write it down.

Lindsay chuckled and shook her head. “It’s fine,” she said, watching as he wrote down his number and then handed the pad back to her. “Thank you!” Lindsay smiled widely. Lindsay closed the pad of paper and shoved the pad and pen into her bag. “I gotta catch the next train,” she commented. “But I’ll give you a call.”

“Okay,” Arthur gave a small, nervous smile as he looked at Lin and then down at his hands, which were folded together in front of him.

“Okay,” Lin nodded, smiling gently. “I’ll see you later.”

Arthur gave her a small wave. “Bye,” he said with a gentle voice.

Lindsay returned the wave as she walked past him, heading towards the station that her train was at. She reached into her pocket and took out her phone. She looked at the cracked screen and let out a sigh. Pressing the power button, the screen turned on. Good, the phone still worked, but Lindsay was barely able to see anything with the way the cracks were. Shaking her head, Lindsay placed her phone back into her pocket.

“Shit,” she cursed underneath her breath before she began to walk towards her designated train station, ready to go home and end the day.


	2. Coffee Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It has been a long week. Lindsay is looking for someone to accompany her to dinner after a long day at the office and Arthur is the only one she can think about.

It was eight o’clock, three hours after Lin was supposed to get off work, and she was just stepping out into the streets of Gotham for the first time in eleven hours. Her feet were aching and sore, making them appear almost numb as she continued to walk. All-day, Lin had been traveling from one department to the next, separating paperwork and delivering new ones that had been printed off in her department. Words could not merely express the pure hatred that she felt towards the nine-to-five job she had to keep; however, she was always told that it would pay off eventually. She just had to wait and see how it worked out.

Lindsay began to make her way down the sidewalk, her hands shoved into her pockets to keep them warm and to make sure that she was always able to keep track of her possessions. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she was able to remind herself of how clumsy she was as well as her first encounter with Arthur Fleck in years. It had been five days since the two of them bumped into each other and exchanged phone numbers. Both had neglected to call the other and even check up to see how things were going. Lindsay figured that she would call, then, since she had time to kill as she made her way to the train station. Hopefully, he would answer. 

With a little bit of struggle, Lindsay was able to go to the contacts on her phone and select Arthur’s. She called and placed the phone against her ear as she walked. The ringing seemed endless. After half a minute of ringing, it seemed like he wasn’t going to pick up, so she pulled the phone away from her face. Before she was able to hang up, she heard a quiet voice come from the speaker. Lin’s eyes widened as she placed the phone back on her ear. 

“Hello?” She asked. 

“Hello,” it was Arthur. 

Lindsay smiled. “Hi, Arthur. It’s Lindsay.” 

“Hi Lindsay,” Lin could hear the smile in his voice. “I didn’t think you would call.” 

Lindsay let out a small sigh. “Yeah, I know, I know. I’m sorry. I meant to call earlier in the week, but my boss has just had me swamped with work and staying late.” Lin ran her fingers through her hair. “As a matter of fact, I just got off work five minutes ago and haven’t had anything to eat. I was calling to ask if you, maybe, wanted to go down to a diner or something and grab a small bite to eat?”

“A small bite?” Arthur asked quietly. 

“Yeah,” Lindsay shrugged her shoulders. “If you don’t want to, I understand, I just wanted some company.” 

There was a small amount of hesitation from the other end. “Sure,” he said. “That sounds great.” 

Lin beamed, smiling brightly. “Great! Where do you live? Maybe we can meet somewhere in the middle.” 

Arthur quietly told her where he lived, and Lin let out a hum, trying to think of a place to eat closest between the two locations. 

“Oh!” She exclaimed. “How about…” Lindsay let out a yelp as fell on her hind end. She let out a groan and rubbed her chest, looking up and seeing the street sign pole that she had run into. 

“Lindsay, are you alright? What happened?” Arthur sounded slightly worried on the other end of the phone. 

“I…uh…” she trailed as she shook her head and brushed herself off as she stood up. “I ran into a street pole.” Her voice was smaller as she told him. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Yeah…” she mumbled before she began to walk again, going around the pole. “Anyway, how about we meet at the diner on Fifth Street? That’s about in the middle, I think. I’m about five or six minutes away.” 

“Okay. I can meet you there.” 

“Great! I’ll see you then!” Lindsay hung up the phone and placed it into her pocket, keeping her fingers wrapped around it as she continued to walk to the diner. 

The diner was one that did its best to replicate the stereotypical vision of how the 50s diners were. Red and white everything. Some of the upholstery on the booths were torn, and there were some stains on the floor that were obviously from food while others were unrecognizable, and Lindsay wasn’t even going to try and figure out what they were. There were a couple of other customers there. Mostly people eating alone, who sat in silence, except for the young couple that was sitting in the corner of the room, holding one other too tightly. Lindsay chose a booth near the center of the room, giving her enough space to be able to enjoy her time with Arthur and her food. 

A waitress came over and placed a menu right in front of her. The girl looked no older than twenty with dark circles underneath her eyes and a frown plastered on her face. Her attitude didn’t match how she looked, though. “Is there anything I can start you off to drink with?” She asked. She just sounded exhausted. 

“Um…I’ll go ahead and just have water and coffee, please. Extra creamer. And I’m expecting someone else.” She gestured to the empty booth seat across from her. 

The waitress looked at the empty seat and nodded, writing down the drink order. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll be right back with your drinks.” 

With that, the waitress turned on her heel and headed behind the counter to get her drinks. This allowed Lindsay some time to look over the menu on what she was going to want. The diner served all-day breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which allowed for a wider variety of foods to be chosen from the menu. As she looked over the different options, she ran her fingers through her hair. The waitress came back with her water, coffee, and a small bowl of individually packaged creamer. She thanked the waitress and began to construct her coffee. 

“Would you like to order now? Or do you want to wait for you plus one?” She asked. 

“I’ll go ahead and wait. I didn’t get a chance to choose yet.” 

“Okay, take your time, ma’am.” She gently patted the table before she walked off. 

Lindsay let out a light breath as she began to look over the menu once again, her eyes going over item after item. After a minute or so, she decided what she was going to get, letting out a sigh as she grabbed the sugar packets from the small container at the far end of the table. Lindsay ripped one open, frowning as it cut right down the middle of the package, spilling sugar all over the table. She shook her head and tried her best to gather the sugar that was on the table in her hand. Once she finished, she poured it into the small bowl that the containers of creamer were in. 

“Hello,” the voice caused her to jump. 

Turning her head, she looked up at Arthur, who had his hands folded in front of him and a gentle smile on his face. His stance was slightly hunched and awkward. “Arthur,” she smiled. “Hi,” she gestured over to the empty seat. “Come and join me. I didn’t really know what you might like to drink so…” She rubbed the back of her neck. 

“That’s okay,” Arthur gestured with one hand. He looked down at his folded hands that sat on top of the table. 

There was a wave of silence that went over the two of them. Before either of them could get a word out, however, the waitress came over, grabbing her pad and pen. “Good evening,” she said, covering her mouth as she yawned. She shook her head and then looked at Arthur. “What can I get you to drink, sir?” 

Arthur looked over at the waitress and then at Lindsay, glancing down at her drinks before looking back at the waitress. “I’ll have the same as her.”

“Would you like creamer with your coffee?” 

“No, thank you…” his eyes darted down to the nametag on her uniform. “Jennifer.” 

Jennifer gave him a small smile as she put the pad in her apron and went away to get the drinks. Lindsay smiled as she held out the menu for Arthur. “Would you like to look at the menu?” 

Arthur shook his head. “Thank you,” Arthur reached over and grabbed the menu gently from her hand. He looked down at it, examining the items. 

Lindsay tried to redeem herself from her sugar incident earlier. She grabbed a couple of packets and slowly opened them at the top, one by one. Then, she poured them into the coffee, one by one. It was a lot neater than the first time. She grabbed the spoon from the silverware she and Arthur got. She began to stir the coffee, mixing the cream and sugar with the coffee. 

Jennifer came back over to the table, setting down the water and coffee. “Alright, guys, do you both know what you want to eat?” She asked. 

Lindsay looked up at Arthur at the same time that he glanced up at her. “I’m ready,” Lindsay said, her eyes still on Arthur. 

Arthur looked at Jennifer, placed the menu down on the table, and then nodded. “I am too,” he said. “You can go first.” 

Lindsay gave him a small smile as she ordered her food, and then Arthur ordered his food as well. Jennifer gave a slight nod and walked away, putting the order in. Lindsay brought the warm cup up to her lips, taking a sip of her coffee

“So, Arthur, it’s been over ten years since we went to school.” She said, setting her mug down. “What have you been up to? What are you doing for a living?” 

Arthur raised his brows as he rubbed his hands together nervously. “I work at Ha-Has as a…clown.” 

“A clown? That’s cool! So, you do, like, parties and stuff like that?” 

“Yeah,” Arthur rubbed the back of his neck, nervously.

“That must be so much fun, getting to socialize with adults and kids all the time must be wonderful.” 

“I love my job,” Arthur said with a small smile on his lips. “What do you do?” 

“Me? Oh, nothing nearly as exciting as you. Mostly just desk work at the offices up North.” 

“Do you like your job?” 

“Not at all,” Lin shook her head, taking a sip of her coffee. 

Arthur frowned. “Then why are you working there if you don’t like it?” 

Lindsay shrugged her shoulders, sighing and running her fingers through her hair. “I guess…I guess it’s because of the money. Office work was one of the only things that I found I was good at, and the pay isn’t that bad. It pays the bills and keeps food on the table. That’s all that matters in a job, right?” 

Arthur shook his head. “You need to find a job that makes you happy. That makes you smile when you go there.” He put on his own smile. 

Lindsay copied the smiling, chuckling. “I guess,” she mumbled and rubbed the back of her head, placing her elbow on the table. 

Arthur placed his hands, folded, on the table, and leaned forward, the smile still on his lips. “What is a job that would make you smile?” 

Lindsay raised her brows and sat there in contemplation, completely stumped by the question. It was one that she was never asked before and never considered herself. She thought through some jobs that she might like and hummed. “A florist,” she commented, looking at Arthur. “Or a shop owner in general. I’d sell…everything. If someone came in asking for the strangest item, I would have it, and I would see the smile on their faces. I like to see people smile. It’s better than seeing the frowns every day.” 

“That seems like a good job. We don’t have many florists here. It makes Gotham too gray.” 

“I agree. There needs to be some more vibrant colors in the city. Maybe then people will be happier.” She mumbled and drank some more of her coffee. She was halfway done by then. “What about you?” 

“Me?” 

“Yeah, if you weren’t working as a clown, what would you be?” 

Arthur was hesitant at first to answer her question. He sat up straighter, placing his hands into his lap. He looked down at the white and black checkered floor before smiling and looking back at Lin. 

“A comedian.” 

Lindsay sat up and raised her brows. “Really?” She asked. “I knew you had a good laugh, but I didn’t know you can tell jokes! Tell me one,” 

Arthur frowned. “Uh…um…” 

Lin waved her hands in front of her. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m putting you on the spot, aren’t I?” She frowned. “You don’t have to.” 

“No, no, it’s okay,” he said as he reached into his coat pocket, grabbing a small notebook from it. He looked down at it and slowly opened it up. “I have them in here.” 

“Okay,” Lindsay smiled happily, her white teeth glimmering under the fluorescent lights. 

Arthur began to flip through the pages, reading the lines carefully, as if he was trying to decide the best joke to tell Lin. Finally, he stopped about halfway through the book, and he held it against his body. He glanced up at Lin, taking a sharp inhale before he looked back down at the joke. 

“Why did the stadium get hot after the game?” Arthur raised his brows. 

Lin smiled. “Why?” 

Arthur covered his mouth, closing his eyes, trying to stop the laugh attack before it could appear. “All of the fans left.” 

Lindsay snorted and covered her mouth, chuckling into her. Her shoulders were moving up and down as she laughed. Arthur laughed as well, holding the notebook close, letting the laugh escape pasted his lips. He clenched his eyes shut tight. The laughter that emitted from Arthur only made Lindsay laugh harder. She didn’t care that some of the other customers had their eyes on the two of them. 

“That was so bad…” she laughed. “So bad, but I loved it,” 

“R-Really?” Arthur asked between laughs. 

Lindsay nodded and placed one of her hands on her cheek. “You’re really good. And the laugh…” she chuckled, trying to get her laughter to die down as well. “The laugh just makes it ten times better. Maybe you _should_ be a comedian.” 

“You think so?” 

“Definitely!” 

Jennifer came over, then, with the two plates that contained their food. She sat them down in front of them and then came back and refilled their drinks. For the entire time that they ate, they chatted between bites, asking each other questions about their lives. Lin asked for more jokes, and Arthur gladly obliged. The two of them were having a wonderful time in the quiet atmosphere until a rather obnoxious customer began to speak some rather lewd comments to Jennifer. Lindsay was able to hear the comments over their talking. 

“You waitresses need to wear shorter skirts,” the man said as he reached over, trailing his hand up Jennifer’s thigh. 

Jennifer jolted back, almost dropping the glasses that she had on the tray she held. “Don’t touch me,” she said. 

Lindsay looked behind her and raised her brows. The man was wearing one of the fancier suits, giving Lin a hint that he was a Wall Street man. Lin narrowed her eyes and shook her head, turning back to Arthur. “Piece of shit,” she mumbled and looked at Arthur. 

She gestured back to the man, allowing Arthur to follow the gesture with his gaze. He looked at the Wall Street man and then Jennifer. He shook his head. 

“Come on, baby doll,” Wall Street smirked as he reached over, placing his hand on Jennifer’s ass. 

Jennifer moved away. “Don’t. Touch. Me.” She pointed at him with one hand before she walked away from him and behind the counter. She shook her head and put the dirty dishes into the sink and put the tray in a small pile of trays beside the serving window. 

“I hate people like that,” Lindsay verbalized. “Scum people who think that they can get what they want because they have extra zeros in their bank account. Happens everywhere, and it’s disgusting.” 

“She shouldn’t be treated like that,” Arthur mumbled and looked over at Jennifer. 

Jennifer filled a new pot with coffee and placed it on the tray. She walked over to the table, offering refills to Arthur and Lindsay. Lindsay agreed, and Arthur declined. She then began to go around to each table that had gotten coffee, offering a refill to them. However, as she walked by Wall Street, he reached up and pinched her ass. Jennifer raised her brows as she turned towards him. She grabbed the pot of smoking hot coffee and poured it into his lap. Wall Street jumped up, letting out a shout. Jennifer stepped back and moved behind the counter. 

“You fucking bitch!” He hissed and tried to air out his pants. He grunted. “You burned my dick!” 

Lindsay had watched the whole scene with wide eyes. Good for Jennifer for standing up for herself, but holy hell that must have hurt. She heard snickering from behind her. Turning back around, she saw Arthur with his hand cupped over his mouth, trying his best not to laugh. Lindsay bit her lip, looking back at Wall Street. Wall Street hurried to the bathroom, slamming the door shut. 

Arthur burst into laughter, still trying his best to hush himself, but Lindsay didn’t mind. She, too, was laughing. She reached over and pat Arthur’s hand. She scooted out of the booth. “Let’s get out of here,” she said. “Before he comes back out.” 

Arthur nodded, still laughing a forced laugh as he got out of the booth. Lindsay grabbed out her wallet, pulled out thirty dollars, and laid it on the table. She waved at Jennifer. “Stay safe!” She called out, still trying to stop herself from having a fit of giggles. 

Jennifer gave a small nod and waved back as Lindsay reached back, grabbing Arthur’s hand. She led him outside of the diner, shivering as the air pricked at her face. She looked back at Arthur as he got closer to her. His laughter began to quiet down as she could tell that he was struggling to silence it. She placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“We’re good now. We’re good.” She smiled. 

Arthur nodded and looked inside before looking back at Lindsay. Lindsay checked the time. It was nine-thirty. Looking up at the sky, she noted that even the naked, black sky looked cold. The two of them began to walk down the sidewalk.

“It’s late,” she said. “I think we should head back to our places.” 

Arthur agreed. “Where do you live?” 

“I live in some older apartment buildings. I actually live just a couple of blocks away from yours.” 

“Let me walk you home, then,” 

Lindsay raised her brows and shook her head. “No, Arthur. My apartment is further away than yours. It would be silly to walk past your apartment just to drop me off.” 

“I want to make sure you’re safe.” 

“I walk alone at night all the time, Arthur.” 

“Please?” He raised his brows, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. 

Lindsay stopped as well as she turned her attention towards Arthur. The look in Arthur’s eyes made him seem as if he was pleading with her. Lin licked her lips and let out a sigh. 

“You have that puppy-dog look on you, that’s for sure.” She mumbled. 

“What?” He asked. 

“Nothing,” she said. “Alright. Sure. I would like for you to walk me home.” She smiled at him. 

Arthur gave her a smile in return. “Thank you,” he said. 

The two of them walked together with the wind rustling through their hair. Their conversation was minimal on the way home, both tired and too focused on staying warm to ask anything. 

Lindsay’s apartment building was seven blocks away from the diner and four blocks away from Arthur’s home. It wasn’t the best building in Gotham, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. The rent was cheap, and she had everything in there that she needed. Lindsay stopped on the steps outside of the building. She turned to Arthur. 

“Thank you so much, Arthur, for coming out to dinner with me. You really made my night.” She said, her arms crossed over her chest, trying to keep her body temperature warm. 

Arthur beamed. “You’re welcome…thank you for calling. Thank you for having dinner with me, too.” He said, his hands folding in front of him. He was returning to his shy demeanor. 

Lindsay smiled as she unfolded her arms, reached over, and wrapped her arms around his neck, embracing him. Arthur raised his brows, hesitant with his actions at first, but soon, he unfolded his hands and wrapped his arms around Lindsay’s waist, returning the hug. After a couple of moments inside of the warm embrace, Lindsay pulled away, looking up at him. 

“We should hang out more,” she said. “I’ll give you a call the next time I’m free.” She said as she walked up to the door. She grabbed the handle and looked back at Arthur. 

Arthur nodded. “That sounds good…uh…that sounds good to me.” He said and folded his hands again. “Call soon, okay?” 

“I will,” she said. “And you have my number, you can call me at any time. I can still answer my calls no matter how busted the phone may seem,” she chuckled. 

Arthur let out a willing chuckle as well, looking down. Lindsay lifted a hand up, giving Arthur a small wave before she entered the apartment building. Arthur looked, watching as she walked over to the elevator, pressed the button, and headed up to her room. As soon as she vanished from sight, Arthur placed his hands into his pockets, turned, and headed home. 


End file.
